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Bleak New Estimates in Drug Epidemic: A Record 72,000 Overdose Deaths in 2017

nytimes.com

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Re: Bleak New Estimates in Drug Epidemic: A Record 72,000 Overdose Deaths in 2017

#41

Post by pjc50 »

announcerman wrote: post #7

The amount of responsibility laundering that's happening is staggering. Is it the fault of the doctors for prescribing strong painkillers or the responsibility of lobbyists for keeping the status quo as it is. Or is it the responsibility of patients to not seek strong opiates for the smallest aches? On whom falls the blame for this?

My own preferred hypothesis is that this is the result of despair: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/04/joblessne...

Someone will no doubt reply that US unemployment is falling, and therefore so should the opiates crisis, but it's not a simple matter of economics and statistics, it's a question of what people believe about the world and their future in it. Someone who gets a bad, painful job with no agency or fulfilment will vanish from the unemployment stats but the despair remains.

(Mind you, both for-profit heathcare and a punitive, moralist approach to pain relief belong in the blame picture as well)

Re: Bleak New Estimates in Drug Epidemic: A Record 72,000 Overdose Deaths in 2017

#42

Post by ssijak »

Nursie wrote: post #24

The war on drugs is a staggering failure. Drugs have infiltrated every level of society, from business leaders and politicians to white and blue collar workers, to the bums on the street. Drugs are causing tens of thousands of deaths a year in the US alone. I dread to think the global total. The casualties of this war are mounting up rapidly. This is before we even count the criminals and enforcers killed in open com…

It is very hypocritical for some politician to tell me what I can and what I can`t put into my body. Recently in UK they enacted a law that criminalize any substance that changes how you feel, but with the following remark "The ban is so wide-ranging that a long list of substances such as alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, food and medical products will have to be given special exemptions." When you thought that you reached the limits of hypocrisy...

Re: Bleak New Estimates in Drug Epidemic: A Record 72,000 Overdose Deaths in 2017

#43

Post by phito »

justsomedude43 wrote: post #40

Natural selection.

Being addicted is not a weakness. Some drugs are stronger that any willpower.

When your doctor prescribes it to you like candy, it's really not the person's fault if he becomes addicted to it.

Please don't be ignorant and blame the victims.

Re: Bleak New Estimates in Drug Epidemic: A Record 72,000 Overdose Deaths in 2017

#44

Post by paulie_a »

cookiecaper wrote: post #32
baxtr wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many say that big Pharma corporations have a large share of the responsibility because they began promoting strong pain killers heavily, starting in the 90s [1]. Now it has become part of American culture (doctors, patients, pharmacistse etc) to treat any pain with these pain killers. It’ll cost a lot and take a long time to reverse that [2] [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2622774/ [2] https://www.vo…

At the same time, know that every time a politician gets a bullet point on his re-election flier for "fighting the opioid epidemic" or "keeping our streets clean", there are real people in real pain who get stranded without the medication they need to function. After the birth of my youngest child, my wife spent the immediate recovery period blindsided by pain because new regulations meant the hospital was unwilling…

I have a friend that went to med school and has a back issue. He basically needs some pain killers 2-3 days a year. At one point he literally considered going to one of those shady pill mill "pain clinics" just to have something on hand for the rare cases he needed it.

Ive honestly considered looking into dark web markets for a different (non opioid) drug I was taking for 10 years consistently. Multiple doctor's kept trying to have someone else deal with it due to DEA paperwork. I once had a doctor actually say "who sent you here, did someone tell you about me?"... My response was "my insurance company and you are 3 blocks away from my apartment.". It was very awkward considering I said I would release any necessary medical records etc.

Re: Bleak New Estimates in Drug Epidemic: A Record 72,000 Overdose Deaths in 2017

#45

Post by yters »

Interestingly, this all is happening through legal routes. What would happen if hard drugs are fully legalized?

Another weird thing, there are already loads of deaths through overdoses in the inner city, but only now it is an epidemic? What changed?

Re: Bleak New Estimates in Drug Epidemic: A Record 72,000 Overdose Deaths in 2017

#46

Post by Nursie »

ssijak wrote: post #42
Nursie wrote: post #24

The war on drugs is a staggering failure. Drugs have infiltrated every level of society, from business leaders and politicians to white and blue collar workers, to the bums on the street. Drugs are causing tens of thousands of deaths a year in the US alone. I dread to think the global total. The casualties of this war are mounting up rapidly. This is before we even count the criminals and enforcers killed in open com…

It is very hypocritical for some politician to tell me what I can and what I can`t put into my body. Recently in UK they enacted a law that criminalize any substance that changes how you feel, but with the following remark "The ban is so wide-ranging that a long list of substances such as alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, food and medical products will have to be given special exemptions." When you thought that you reached…

Whilst I agree with you - this doesn't even seem like the important piece any more. The ludicrous policies are killing hundreds of thousands a year and making life hell for so many more.

It shouldn't even be a question about the morality of taking drugs or the hypocrisy of trying to stop it while carving out extensions any more - it's way more important than that.

Re: Bleak New Estimates in Drug Epidemic: A Record 72,000 Overdose Deaths in 2017

#47

Post by raverbashing »

ekianjo wrote: post #33
baxtr wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many say that big Pharma corporations have a large share of the responsibility because they began promoting strong pain killers heavily, starting in the 90s [1]. Now it has become part of American culture (doctors, patients, pharmacistse etc) to treat any pain with these pain killers. It’ll cost a lot and take a long time to reverse that [2] [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2622774/ [2] https://www.vo…

In the end of the day doctors are the only ones holding the pen to write prescriptions, no matter how you look at things.

Drug companies pushed for a higher dose "that lasts 12h/24h" (it didn't) instead of more moderate dosing that doctors wanted to do .

Re: Bleak New Estimates in Drug Epidemic: A Record 72,000 Overdose Deaths in 2017

#48

Post by yznovyak »

pjc50 wrote: post #38
some_account wrote: post #36

This is by design. Look at any comedy movie these days, and the young adults are doing drugs. It has become as natural as eating junk food. People view being drugged and dumb to be fine these days because that's the Hollywood propaganda and it's everywhere in western society.

.. are you sure? This is the same Hollywood that's been editing cigarettes out of movies? Could you cite an example scene?

??? Are you for real? Just google "stoner movies".

Off top of my head: The Pineapple Express, This is the End, Harold and Kumar go to the White Castle, Jay and Silent Bob strike back.

Re: Bleak New Estimates in Drug Epidemic: A Record 72,000 Overdose Deaths in 2017

#49

Post by netsharc »

pjc50 wrote: post #41
announcerman wrote: post #7

The amount of responsibility laundering that's happening is staggering. Is it the fault of the doctors for prescribing strong painkillers or the responsibility of lobbyists for keeping the status quo as it is. Or is it the responsibility of patients to not seek strong opiates for the smallest aches? On whom falls the blame for this?

My own preferred hypothesis is that this is the result of despair : https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/04/joblessne... Someone will no doubt reply that US unemployment is falling, and therefore so should the opiates crisis, but it's not a simple matter of economics and statistics, it's a question of what people believe about the world and their future in it. Someone who gets a bad, painful job with no ag…

I mean, Trump is here because of despair too. Hillary promised "more of Obama", and the desperate people not benefiting from the roaring markets thought "I've been in misery for the past x years, she's promising more of that, the other guy is saying 'change', he might be full of shit, but what if he strikes it lucky, who do I pick, more of the same, or a chance of my life improving?".

Which is also why it was ridiculous that Trump (and his base) celebrated the latest GDP numbers, when on the ground the people were still suffering. And then we have Amazon, Uber, etc, "jobs"...

Re: Bleak New Estimates in Drug Epidemic: A Record 72,000 Overdose Deaths in 2017

#50

Post by pjc50 »

yznovyak wrote: post #48
pjc50 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

.. are you sure? This is the same Hollywood that's been editing cigarettes out of movies? Could you cite an example scene?

??? Are you for real? Just google "stoner movies". Off top of my head: The Pineapple Express, This is the End, Harold and Kumar go to the White Castle, Jay and Silent Bob strike back.

Weed (now legal in several states and not related to overdose deaths) is a different prospect to opiates, though.
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